Afilias the .Info registry announced today the opening of the 2009 .INFO Awards.

The awards, first created in 2006, rewards the best professionally created .INFO Web sites from around the world.

.INFO Site owners are able to submit their .INFO site for consideration until 11:59 p.m. on October 23, 2009.

Sites will be judged in two parts.

First a panel of judges, to be announced in mid-October, will create a shortlist of final contenders based on select criteria. These criteria include: presentation of content, functionality of the website, design, usability, and originality.

The shortlist of the top ten best sites will then be published at www.info-award.info on November 2, 2009, at which point members of the public will be allowed to cast their vote for their favorite site. Public votes will be combined with judges scores to determine the final top three winners.

Prizes for the awards include: US$7,500 for the first place winner, US$5,000 for second place, and US$3,000 for third place. All winners will be announced in November and will be notified directly via e-mail.

For more details or to submit your .INFO site for the 2009 .INFO Awards, please see www.INFO-award.info.